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The $3 million man: Some perspective

News that Gov. Brian Sandoval raised $3 million in six months not only cements his re-election but is an unprecedented number for an off-year in Nevada.

And don't forget: The governor raised about $1.3 million in the first two years of his tenure (he spent about half of that), so he's at $4.3 million raised. (I'm told he has about $3.1 million on hand, which is about $3.1 million more than anyone who will run against him.)

In a comparable filing in 2010, candidate Sandoval raised $900,000. It's good to be the governor. (Unless, of course, you were the governor in 2010: Jim Gibbons raised a paltry $165,000 in 2009.)

During that first election, for the rest of 2010, Sandoval raised $900,000, then $2.3 million, then $700,000 during the three reporting periods. That's $4.8 million total.

Even previously anointed ones, Bob Miller ($3.2 million total) and Kenny Guinn (nearly $6 million total) did not raise that much the year before the election.

So Sandoval, who will not have a race, now has the wherewithal to help candidates up and down the ticket. It is positively -- dare I say it? -- Reid-like (perhaps not quite as well-oiled or ruthless, but soon....).